Freshmen are making their marks

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Updated 11:46 pm, Tuesday, December 4, 2012

John Calipari won a national title for Kentucky last season by starting mainly freshmen.

John Calipari won a national title for Kentucky last season by starting mainly freshmen.

Photo: Andy Lyons, Getty Images

Freshmen are making their marks

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The "Calipari Model" of success is off to a rocky start.

It's a simple approach: Clear the decks and start from scratch, bring in the best talent around, teach them to be unselfish and win a national championship. It's what John Caliparidid last season at Kentucky when he started three freshmen, and what he nearly achieved two years before that.

Kentucky and UCLA are the chief practitioners of the Calipari Model this season, ranking third and 13th in the preseason Associated Press poll, respectively, largely because they had the nation's top two recruiting classes. UCLA's Travis Wear is the only 2011-12 starter from either team who is currently a starter.

Well, both teams are unranked this week.

Things could - and probably will - improve for both, but it shows that predicting success based on projected talent remains a risky business.

The Bruins (5-3) are particularly puzzling, and their season could go up, down or sideways. They have just eight scholarship players after the departures of Tyler Lamb and Joshua Smith. They lost to a Cal Poly team whose only other win was against Northern Colorado, and they won an overtime game they should have lost against UC Irvine, which had lost four straight before Tuesday. Perhaps most distressing is that new, beautiful 13,800-seat Pauley Pavilion, which was renovated at a cost of $136 million, has averaged just 7,200 in attendance in the four home games since its near sellout in the opener.

Arizona, a third team relying heavily on newcomers, is 5-0 and ranked No. 8 heading into Tuesday's game against Southern Mississippi, but the Wildcats have yet to be tested.

The freshman factor: Despite the problems of UCLA and Kentucky, freshmen remain integral to teams' success. Each of the top four teams in the country - Indiana, Duke, Michigan and Syracuse - has at least one freshman in the starting lineup.

Here are our top five freshmen at the moment:

1. Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State: Despite a 36.8 shooting percentage, Smart has taken the Cowboys into the top 25 by doing everything, averaging 14.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals. In the win over North Carolina State, he had 20 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and four steals.

3. Isaiah Austin, Baylor: He's averaging 13.7 points and 7.7 rebounds and helped end Kentucky's 55-game home winning streak. The 7-foot-1 center has made five three-point shots - which may or may not be in Baylor's best interests - and just acts like a budding star.

4. Nerlens Noel, Kentucky: Although still raw offensively, the 6-11 Noel is not to blame for the Wildcats' fall from the top 25, having averaged 11.4 points, 9.4 rebounds 2.9 blocks and 3.0 steals. They aren't quite Anthony Davisnumbers, but by season's end, Noel's stats may be comparable to what the national player of the year did last season.

5. Glenn Robinson III/Nik Stauskas, Michigan: Barely edging out Xavier's Semaj Christon for this spot, this two-for-one pick is based on the Wolverines' No. 3 ranking. Robinson is averaging 12.3 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds, while Stauskas is averaging 14.3 points and hitting 62.1 percent of his three-pointers coming off the bench.

Bay Area factor: Three Bay Area players are among the nation's top 10 scorers: San Jose State's James Kinneyis sixth in the nation at 22.8 points a game, Santa Clara's Kevin Fosteris seventh at 22.6 and Cal's Allen Crabbeis ninth at 22.4.

Better with age

Southern Methodist created a stir by hiring aging Larry Brown, who was 71 at the time. But so far, the hiring looks good, as the Mustangs, who were 13-19 last season, are 8-1, albeit against weak competition. Let's look at how the oldest coaches in Division I have started out this season, starting with the oldest first.

1. Tevester Anderson, 75 years old, Jackson State: 0-4, all on the road as Jackson State's first home game is not until Jan. 6.

2. Larry Brown, 72, SMU: 8-1, with a chance to eventually be 12-1 based on the schedule.

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